Ventilated sighting rib for firearms



March 22, 1960 v. A. BROWNING VENTILATED sxcmmc RIB FOR FIREARMS Filed Sept. 5, 1956 INVENTOR. VAL A. BROWNING I ATTO NEYS h- I ll! IIIIII 2,929,164 VENTILATED SIGHTING RIB FOR FIREARMS Val A. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assignor to Browning Industries, Inc., Ogden, Utah, a corporation of Utah Application September 5,1956, Serial No. 608,138 1 Claim. or. 42-76) This invention relates to firearms and'more particularly to a novel and improved ventilated sighting rib for the barrel of a firearm.

It is the object of this invention to provide a ventilated sighting rib for the barrel of a firearm, which is so constructed and ventilated as to minimize the transfer of heat, generated when the gun is fired, from the barrel to the sighting plane of the rib, thereby substantially avoiding what is commonly known as a heat wave which causes a distortion of thelight waves passing through it and consequently a distortion of the image of the sight and the target; which provides an especially wide sighting plane so that the sight may be easily aligned with the target and greater accuracy in shooting is obtained; which lends a pleasing appearance to the gun; and which may be economically manufactured and applied to the barrel.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a firearm having a barrel on which is mounted a ventilated sighting rib constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the firearm and rib of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and i Fig. 7 is a 'crosssectional viewtaken along the line 77 of Fig. l.

With reference to the drawings, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a portion of a firearm compris ing a frame 10- and a barrel 11 supported thereon. Mounted on the top of the barrel is a sighting rib 12 constructed in accordance with the present invention. This rib comprises a relatively wide strip of metal extending substantially throughout the full length of the barrel and having on its underside a longitudinal channel 13 of rectangular cross section. Thus the rib is of a generally inverted rectangular U-shaped cross section throughout, and it has a top wall 14 and depending side walls 15. The lower edges of the side walls are shaped to conform to the transverse contour and the longitudinally tapered profile of the barrel so that when the rib isplaced on top of the barrel, these edges have a proper contact therewith for brazing, glueing or otherwise fixing the rib to the barrel.

For the purposes of permitting air circulation about Sates, atent ice the top of the barrel and the underside of the top wall of the rib, and minimizing the amount of heat conducted to the top wall, each of the side walls 15, adjacent the top wall, is provided with a series of relatively long slots makes it much more apparent to the shooter if he is wronglycanting or tilting his gun sidewise. ing plane has a longitudinally extending knurled or matted stripe 18 to break up the reflection of the light rays and prevent glare in the shooter's eyes. This stripe is of the same width as the matting 19 on the frame of the gun but is of less width than the rib.

It will be noted from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that when the rib is secured to the barrel the channel 13 forms an air duct enclosed on the top and the sides by the rib and on the bottom by the top of the barrel wall. The posts 17 are disposed at opposite sides of the channel, and this permits of a relatively low rib, which lends a pleasing appearance to the firearm. These posts are of a comparatively small cross sectional area so that they conduct only a minor amount of the heat generated on the inside of the barrel to the sighting plane, on firing successive shots, but at the same time the posts form ample support for the top wall of the rib. Furthermore, with my improved rib, more surface is exposed to the air than in guns heretofore made, and this is of advantage from a cooling standpoint. The channel or duct 13, taken in connection with the slots 16, through which the channel communicates with the outside air, affords excellent ventilation of the rib. The central duct, especially in guns of the recoiling barrel type, serves to circulate the cooling air during the backward and forward movements of the barrel. In guns having either reciprocating or rigid barrels, when the barrel is tilted'upwardly or downwardly, a chimney-like effect occurs, which displaces the heated air with fresh air at atmospheric temperatures. These various factors result in maintaining the sighting plane surface of the rib relatively cool, and also serve to cool the barrel somewhat. Consequently, the air in contact with the sighting plane surface is not heated enough, upon firing several shots, one after the other, to cause a heat wave, which is so objectionable in that it causes a dis torted image of the front sight target. Thus, the accuracy of aim is materially increased.

The construction of my improved rib is a further ad vantage in that it may be economically manufactured and fixed to the barrel. It is very difficult and costly to fix the rib to the barrel if the entire machining operation of the rib were done before it was fixed to the barrel. With my arrangement some of the machining operations may be done on the rib and then after the rib is secured to the barrel the remaining machining operations are carried out. More particularly, in the manufacture of my rib a strip of metal of rectangular cross section is provided, and the groove or channel 13 is milled in the underside of the strip throughout its length. The bottom edges of the side walls 15 of the rib are shaped to conform to the barrel as previously described. The rib is now fixed to the barrel and thereafter the relatively long rectangular slots 16 are milled in each side of the rib into the longitudinally extending channel thereof, leaving the supports or posts 17 on either side joined to the sighting plane section of the rib. The especially wide top wall of the rib permits these slots tobe milled far enough horizontally into the sides of the rib to join the longitudinal channel Patented Mar. 22, 1960 The sight-.

without cutting the barrel, although the lower edges of some of the slots are below the top of the barrel.

I claim:

In combination, a tubular barrel for firearms having an upper surface which is arcuate in cross section and a sighting rib fixed to the upper surface thereof and extending longitudinally throughout the major portion of the length of the barrel, said rib being of inverted U-shaped cross section over substantially its entire length and comprising a relatively Wide top wall and side walls depending from the edges of the top wall, said side walls being planar throughout and having continuous lower edges conformed to and abutting the arcuate upper surface of the barrel, said top wall, side walls and arcuate top surface of the barrel forming a central duct extending substantially throughout the length of the rib, said side walls References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,029,292 Hoagland June 11, 1912 1,160,157 Flues Nov. 16, 1915 1,705,423 Smith Aug. 27, 1925 2,007,437 Wagner July 9, 1935 2,809,433 Martinek Oct. 15, 1957 

